


Home for the Summer

by SlaveToMyKeyboard



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Domestic, Fluff, Multi, betterbrostrider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 07:45:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9481529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlaveToMyKeyboard/pseuds/SlaveToMyKeyboard
Summary: A #betterbrostrider ficlet for caligulasaquariums on tumblr! Dave invites some friends home from hogwarts over the holidays, and Bro tries his best to be a good host.





	

p>Trains were never your favourite mode of transport. Then again, neither are cars or portkeys or floo powder. You’re more of a broom guy, at least then it’s just you and the sky without the feeling that you’re being sucked through a pipe. Unless you do end up in a pipe, which hasn’t happened to you so far but hey, a guy can never be too careful, there’s some crazy magic shit out there in the world just waiting to fuck up your day.

But, you digress. Actually, you’ve got nothing to do _but_ digress, seeing as you’re stuck on this train for another - you check your watch - half an hour, Jesus Christ. Even the thought of one more minute makes you want to jump out the window, what with Karkat rhythmically knocking his heel against the seat and Eridan muttering strings of Latin under his breath as he reads that thick ass book he’s been dragging around half the year. Rose is the only one being remotely tolerable, just tapping her nails on the arm rest between making notes in her journal.

You look out the window with a sigh. The ‘no muggle technology’ rule at hogwarts is so fuckin stupid, what’s wrong with a pair of headphones? You don’t even want to plug them into anything, you just want to shut out everyone else’s noise once in a while. You tried a spell for magic cotton wool back in third year, but that almost deafened you permanently and you’ve been understandably wary of trying again. Rose offered to try, but, well… she’s a great witch and all, but she does tend to be a little over ambitious. She’d probably end up making you a whole hat out of the stuff.

A loud huff from Karkat draws you out of your own mind, and by the time you tune back in he’s already talking to Eridan.

“How much longer are you going to be reading that fucking thing? I thought you finished it last week and put it back in the restricted section? How the fuck did you even smuggle it out?”

Eridan shoots him a glare, “Kar, would you shut your mouth about it? Ain’t exactly the sort a thing I want everyone knowin’ - you shouldn’t either, seein’ as you helped me get it. An I didn’t smuggle it, I just happened to forget to put it back an’ nobody noticed it was gone.”

“Dude, I would gladly take any punishment if it’d stop you sitting there talking to yourself - what’s it even about? And since when did you speak Latin?” Karkat leans over Eridan’s lap, frowning at the lines of text he’s confronted with.

“It’s not anythin’ _dangerous_ if that’s what you’re thinking, it’s just a history book.”

“About dark magic,” Rose adds, smiling when Eridan turns his scowl on her.

You sit forwards a little, “What kind of dark magic?”

Eridan rolls his eyes and takes one of those deep breaths that means he’s using up his reserves of self control, “Like I said, _nothing dangerous_ , it’s just the history of its use an’ such - if anythin’ it’s a warning _not_ ta use it, most a the people in here died in some horrific fashion after one a their spells came back to bite em in the arse.”

“Well none of _us_ speak Latin, you could be telling some big ol’ porky pies there, Eri.”

“Speak for yourself, Dave,” Rose scoffs. “I’m not sure if you know anything about those Latin classes I’ve been taking, but they do involve gaining a comprehensive knowledge of the language itself. But even so, I read that book last year with the same translation spell that Eridan is likely to be using. It’s completely harmless.”

You glance at Eridan in time to see his cheeks turn pink as his frown twists into an embarrassed grimace, before its hidden once again behind the book.

For just a moment, you almost regret inviting the two of them to spend the summer with you and Rose. Then Karkat runs a hand through his hair, leaning against Eridan’s shoulder in that endearing ‘I want contact but I don’t want to ask for it’ way and ah, yeah, that’s why you invited them. You’d never admit it, but you hate the thought of them being miserable - Karkat stuck with his entirely muggle family and Eridan abandoned at hogwarts by his Ministry slave of a father for half the summer.

The compartment drifts into a comfortable almost-silence again, Rose scribbling notes and Eridan making frustrated noises every so often as he tries to read without speaking aloud - which you’re guessing is part of the translation spell, or at least makes it easier. Karkat’s soft chuckles make the noise better to deal with, though. Especially the way his nose scrunches up when he smiles - you just wish he didn’t stop himself whenever he notices.

You busy yourself by making a mental list of everything you’re going to do once you get back home. Social media is a must - Bro helped you code a posting system for your blog, but there’s probably a ton of shit in your inbox to sort through. TV will also absorb a considerable amount of your time; you must have missed a dozen seasons of your favourite shows since Christmas. God, you can’t wait to have your gaming setup back, too.

Thinking about all the things waiting for you at home is enough to get you though the train journey, even when Eridan and Rose start arguing over the book again, this time something about how one of the guys in it was an Auror, but not really, but Eridan thinks he was lying and was actually never one in the first place?

Karkat eventually gives him a chocolate frog as a distraction - Eridan never can resist staring at the wizard card for longer than is deemed necessary, especially when he gets some decrepit old asshole who wrote a book or something. Or a house founder, that works too.

“Salazar, fuckin’ _finally_ ,” he says, smiling for the first time all day as he admires the card, “he’s as elusive as that fuckin’ snake was - surprisin’, considering the size a the thing.”

Karkat smacks him on the arm at the mention of the Basilisk that almost killed both of them and several other of your friends. Wow, you can’t believe that was almost four years ago. Shit, the next time you go back will be your last year at Hogwarts. Well damn, if that isn’t depressing. You shake your head to get rid of those thoughts. You’ve got a summer ahead of you at home with your friends, no need to think about next year right now.

The train is pulling into the station quicker than you expected. Before you know it, you’ve dragged your bags onto the platform and gathered off to one side to wait for your Bro, Dirk.

Most of the other students have left by the time he arrives, jogging through the wall and scanning the platform until he finds you,

“Hey, lil bro, you and your friends ready to get on outta here?”

“ _Please_ , oh my _God_.” Karkat grabs his bag and leads the way back to the muggle platforms, dragging his feet in a grumpier fashion than usual. He must be hella tired. You should offer him a nap when you get home.

This isn’t the first time your brother has been acquainted with Karkat and Eridan. Karkat visits at least once a year to escape his family, and Eridan has been dumped at your apartment a few times by his mother when she’s too busy and doesn’t trust him to stay at home. He never really explained what she meant by that and you didn’t ask. Bro never minds, he’s pretty chill when it comes to visitors. Takes a while to warm up to them, sure, but he gives everyone a chance. Or a few chances, in Eridan’s case.

Rose, of course, he knows very well, seeing as she’s your half-sister. On the wizarding side, that is. She’s a pureblood, but your mom was a muggle. Neither of you ever met your father, though, which is probably for the best considering the way Rose’s mom talks about him .

You all chatter about nonsense as Bro takes the lead to the portkey. Usually you’d just take a muggle plane, but since there’s so many of you he thought magical transport would be easier. That’s the cool thing about your brother - he let you choose between muggle and magic when you were growing up. You had an MP3 player _and_ a CD rack that alphabetised itself. Truly the best of both worlds. Even if Bro did refuse to use magic to help you clean your room.

The look on Karkat’s face when you get to the portkey makes you want to hold his hand as he reaches for it. He’s always hated them, even more than you. But he never says anything, so you just steady him once you’ve managed to recover from the awful pulling sensation on your gut after you land.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw up on your shoes this time,” he says, taking a deep breath as he straightens up enough to stand on his own.

“What about mine, Kar? Are they safe?” Eridan teases, getting a playful shove for his troubles.

He sticks his tongue out in retaliation, but soon both of them are smiling as you all follow Bro down into the apartment building. You’re not sure what he’s going to do about magically crossing the Atlantic if they ever get rid of that old service shack on the roof.

“Oh, what’s that smell?” Rose says, looking around as she enters the apartment.

“Dinner,” Bro replies, opening the oven and taking out five pizza boxes. “Thought you guys might like some regular food.”

Karkat looks as if he’s about to melt like the copious amounts of cheese he always asks for, taking a deep sniff of the box before taking it to the couch like a squirrel preparing to stash it’s nuts for the winter. His face is priceless when he opens the lid, eyes practically tearing up as he takes a moment to admire the clearly God-like pizza. Then all the respect is gone and he’s tearing into it, getting sauce all over his face and hands like a wild animal.

The rest of you take a more delicate approach, not quite as desperate for take-out as the guy who’s father thinks that anything delivered in a box isn’t fit for human consumption, and spends the time he’s not at home being fed on ye olde roast chicken and scrambled eggs. It’s almost cute, but mostly kind of disgusting, so you offer him some napkins before he gets the bright idea to wipe his hands down his jeans.

He blushes slightly as he thanks you and seems to suddenly remember his manners, turning away until he’s used half the stack to wipe his face clean. Now _that’s_ cute.

“So,” Dirk says, taking a seat in his usual chair with a box of his own. “Have we learned anything interestin’ this year?”

Eridan nods enthusiastically, but he has a mouthful of pizza so Rose beats him to the punch and answers first.

“I’ve been studying divination, it’s quite a fascinating in spite of the considerable variations in the results of readings or translations of prophecies. I could read your tea leaves for you later, if you would like?”

“Aw man, that sounds swell but unfortunately I’m more of a coffee guy,” Bro replies, obviously relieved when Rose takes his answer with a nod and then returns to her food.

“Well _I_ passed my second year of Arithmancy,“ Eridan says. “Which is a far superior predictive art as it uses logic an’ numerancy to explore likely outcomes of upcoming temporal events, not just pictures an’ foggy glass spheres.”

You can tell from the way your sister sets her shoulders back that she’s gearing up for a ‘debate’ - argument - so you step in before she can fall for Eridan’s goading.

“I made slytherin quiddich captain,” you offer. “These guys are the best beaters I could ask for and Rose can catch a snitch quicker than a Chinese fireball.”

Rose turns to you with an eyebrow raised. “Likening me to a dragon, you really know how to compliment a lady, Dave.”

Then just as you’re starting to think she’s serious, she giggles and pats your shoulder.

Bro hums in amusement, smirking a little as he replies. “Either way, it’s nice that y'all are on the team together. Any of you plannin’ on going professional?“

You all shake your heads, which Dirk seems surprised at, but he doesn’t press the issue when nobody volunteers a more elaborate answer. Quiddich is fun an all, but you’ve each got your own plans for the future. Although currently, they centre around enjoying your Pizza before it gets cold.

Bro suggests a movie after you’re done, and Karkat predictably leaps out of his seat volunteering to choose. He scrolls down Netflix with the most concentrated little frown on his face, head cocked to one side like a curious puppy.

He’s about half way through the romantic comedy section when someone rings the bell.

“Hello, is this the strider residence?” Asks a familiar, soft voice when your brother answers the door.

Rose stands up with a grin. “Kanaya! I was beginning to get a little concerned that you’d gotten lost.”

“Oh, yes,” she smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “The portkey did miss its mark by a block or two, but I could see the building so it was little trouble.”

Kanaya is only staying for a couple of days, but since you were bringing two friends home, Bro thought it only fair that Rose get some extra time with her girlfriend.

“Sorry ‘bout that, I should’ve checked beforehand.” Dirk closes the door after her.

“Oh really, it was no trouble, I quite enjoyed the walk.”

Kanaya and Rose take up residence snuggling on the smaller couch and Bro returns to his chair after dimming the lights, leaving Karkat to sprawl across yours and Eridan’s lap as the movie begins.

He picked one you haven’t seen before, but by the way you can just make out him mouthing the words in the low lighting you’re guessing it’s been played to death on his own TV. You end up watching him more than the movie, but really, that isn’t too much of a sacrifice. He’s a warm, comforting weight that you never knew you wanted until it was there. Feeling him breathe is more magical than any spell you’ve been taught, the fact that he’s here and close to you, comfortable with you.

Maybe it won’t be such a long two weeks after all.


End file.
